This faith-based, nonprofit confidential legal aid clinic was founded in 2006 and helps those struggling with poverty and find themselves in need of legal assistance.

Guests enjoyed refreshments, socializing and the chance to bid on silent auction items that included an official Denver Broncos helmet signed by tight end Julius Thomas and tickets to see the Denver Nuggets play the Los Angeles Lakers.

Bachus & Schanker founding partner Kyle Bachus made a brief appearance before heading out to help set up the annual Dolls for Daughters Toy Shop founded by his wife, Jessica.

Bachus & Schanker’s other co-founder, Darin Schanker, addressed the crowd, sharing the story of JAMLAC and the dedication of its executive director, Steve Thompson.

Dawn Rozeki, Scott Lumpkin and Jamie Scoular.

Then Andrea G., a teenage crime victim helped by JAMLAC, spoke tearfully about her struggles over the past year and the gratitude she has for JAMLAC in helping her to become the thriving student she is today.

Among the attendees was University of Denver Vice Chancellor Scott R. Lumpkin, a longtime supporter of JAMLAC.

In the five years Bachus & Schanker has hosted the Joy of Giving Reception, more than $47,000 has been raised for JAMLAC. The money raised from this year’s event will enable JAMLAC to provide legal services for 30 clients that struggle with poverty and oppression.

Utilizing the services of volunteer attorneys, law school students, paralegals and other volunteers from throughout the metro area, JAMLAC represents the needy in civil and minor criminal matters that include family law, bankruptcy, sealing of criminal records, quashing of warrants and other such matters.

In a court of law, both the prosecution and the defense are allowed to present their sides of the story.

The University of Denver’s Law Stars Dinner is no court of law, and thus the honorees aren’t allowed to speak.

They acknowledge their awards by coming to the stage at the conclusion of the program, to smile and acknowledge a hearty round of applause while standing behind the commemorative chairs that they get to take home.

They can’t express their thanks or rebut what was said about them in the videos filled with stories — some true, some tall tales — related by colleagues, family and friends.

It’s all in good fun, though. The portraits painted in the videos aren’t too outrageous — and the ones that are do have a certain grain of truth to them.

This year, for example, the audience got to discover things like who among honorees Gale Norton, Jack Finlaw, Stephen Pepper and Ted Gelt had been a hippie, played in a rock band and had an early-life goal of becoming a cowpoke and the lead singer in a country-western band.

The DU Law Stars Dinner, chaired by Bill Keating and Patty Powell, was held at the Hyatt Regency Convention Center. Lisa Hogan was master of ceremonies and joined Martin Katz, dean of DU’s Sturm College of Law, in presenting the honorees with their commemorative chairs.

Norton, the Secretary of Interior from 2001-06 and attorney general for Colorado from 1991-99, was given the Outstanding Alumni Award. She is now president of Norton Regulatory Strategies and serves as a director of American Transmission Company. Norton received her juris doctor (JD) degree from DU in 1978.

Finlaw, recipient of the Robert H. McWilliams Jr. Alumni Professionalism Award, is chief legal counsel to Gov. John Hickenlooper. Prior to that he was chief of staff to former Mayor Guillermo “Bill” Vidal and director of Denver’s Theatres and Arenas Division. He received his JD from DU in 1981.

The Robert B. Yegge Excellence in Teaching Award went to Pepper. Prior to joining the Sturm College of Law faculty, where his students have named him Professor of the Year four times, Pepper was in practice at the Denver firm Holland & Hart. He graduated from Stanford “with great distinction” and received his law degree from Yale.

Gelt, a tax specialist, received the Thompson G. Marsh Award. An adjunct professor who has taught in the Graduate Tax Program for almost 40 years, Gelt is with BakerHostetler’s Denver office, advising individual clients with respect to estate and family planning, tax controversy and criminal tax matters. He advises corporate entities in transactional tax matters and provides counsel and expert testimony for the defense of tax and estate planning. He received his JD from DU in 1975.

The money raised that night helps support two initiatives at Sturm College of Law: the Judicial Fellows Program and the Clinical Programs.

The Judicial Fellows Program pays recent law school graduates to work for local judges, providing them with 20 hours of legal research and writing per week for a term of up to one year. The Clinical Programs give students the opportunity to learn about lawyering skills in the real world of clients who face a variety of issues for which they might not otherwise have legal representation. Areas include civil litigation, civil rights, criminal defense and environmental law.

Enough friends and relatives to fill six tables turned out to congratulate Gelt for receiving the award that has only been given five times since it was instituted in 1977. Thomas N. Jordan Jr. was the first recipient, and was followed by Donald L. Sturm (1999); Douglas G. Scrivner (2006); Justice Patricio M. Serna (2009) and William L. Keating (2012).

DU’s new Chancellor, Rebecca Chop, was at the dinner, too, along with Provost Gregg Kvistad; Sturm College of Law namesake Don Sturm and his wife, Susan; Margot Gilbert Frank; Barbara Grogan; John and Merry Low; Jack and Wendy Trigg; Nancy Elkind; Bob and Doris Truhlar; and Pamela Gagel, chair of the DU Law Stars Alumni Council.

Raising money for a worthy cause is certainly gratifying. It’s a blast, though, when the cash is earned for doing something you love to do.

Like ski.

The Vail Ski Challenge combines friendly competition with an “experience of a lifetime” for 10 teams attempting to win the biggest share possible of a $250,000 purse for the Colorado charity of their choice.

When the challenge ended April 11, the close of the 2013-14 ski season, Team Herda, captained by tw telecom’s chairman and chief executive officer Larissa Herda, was in first place.

In addition to a Gold Medal, Team Herda won a $100,000 donation from Vail Resorts to SungateKids.

2014 Athena Award recipient Sheila Gutterman with her husband, Dr. Gary Gutterman, and their son, Steve. (Steve Peterson, Special to The Denver Post)

Attorney Sheila Gutterman, known in legal circles as the “Mother of Collaborative Law,” is the recipient of the 2014 Athena Award, which is given annually by the Colorado Women’s Chamber of Commerce.

The recipient must exemplify exceptional professional achievement and show devotion to community service and generosity in assisting other women in their attainment of professional excellence and leadership skills.

Gutterman, who became an attorney following a successful career as an event planner, is the co-founder and president of Gutterman Griffiths, which specializes in family law.

“One woman can make a difference,” Gutterman said as she accepted the award, “but women supporting women can change the world.”

Gutterman is membership chair of the Colorado Judicial Institute. The Colorado Women’s Chamber has previously included her on its list of Denver’s 25 Most Powerful Women and honored her with its Lifetime Achievement Award.

Other nominees were Laura Davis, director of environmental, health and safety and system safety for Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp.; Carla Dore, president/CEO of Workplace Resource; Ellen Golombek, executive director of the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment; Suzanne Griffiths, vice president/shareholder/co-founder of Gutterman Griffiths; Julia Hutchins, CEO of Colorado HealthOP; Sharon Knight, president/CEO of Warren Village; Patricia Ladewig, provost at Regis University; Heather Lafferty, CEO and executive director at Habitat for Humanity of Metro Denver; Janet Lowe, senior vice president and director of Vectra Wealth Management; Denise Maes, director of public policy for the ACLU; Kathy Mayer, service line director for Flight for Life Colorado; Jodi Rolland, Denver market president and Colorado state president for Bank of America and managing director of Heartland Market for Merrill Lynch; Joyce Schlose, vice president of workforce development for Goodwill Industries of Denver; and Lynne Valencia, vice president/community relations for Gannett/KUSA-TV.

Ellen Golombek, Deborah Brackney and Sharon Knight were all nominated for the 2014 Athena Award. (Steve Peterson, Special to The Denver Post)

The event held at the Hyatt Regency Convention Center began with cocktails, a silent auction and vocals by Hazel Miller.

9News reporter TaRhonda Thomas did a great job as mistress of ceremonies, but leave it to a man — Murugan Palani from Premier Sponsor Excel Energy — to crack everyone up.

Palani, who had the honor of announcing who the 2014 Athena Award recipient would be, confessed that he had mentioned the gala to one of his female co-workers. “She told me to see how many red-soled shoes I could count. I had no idea what she was talking about, so I Googled red-soled shoes … and found out she was talking about (pricey) Christian Louboutins!”

2013 Athena Award recipient Elbra Wedgeworth was the keynote speaker, sharing how her humble beginnings had not interfered with her quest for success. A former president of the Denver City Council and one of those responsible for bringing the Democratic National Convention to Denver, Wedgeworth is now a senior executive with Denver Health.

The Athena Awards Gala also was the occasion to present the Florence Caldwell Achievement Scholarship to Sarah Martinez, a senior at Erie High School. The scholarship covers tuition, books and fees for four years at Colorado School of Mines and is valued at $71,940.

Martinez plans to study chemical engineering at Mines.

Denver Mayor Michael Hancock stopped by to offer his congratulations to the nominees and to thank an audience that included Maureen Barker, Jean Galloway, Joyce Lozow, Sharon Linhart and Genia Larson for supporting the cause.

The Cancer Treatment Centers of America were the gala’s Platium Sponsor and were represented by Jaci Brown and Lisa Lantz.

For sure if said pooch belongs to Lawrence French and Gregory Sargowicki.

Their beloved Evita is roughly two weeks away from birthing a litter of pups, and her attentive humans wanted to make sure no one jostled her during the Wild West Party they host every summer at their Conifer home, Hummingbird Mountain.

Dick Franklin, left, Ed Haselden and Adam Sayers are among those to be honored as Father of the Year. Photo Provided by American Diabetes Association

Dick Franklin, whose daughter, Missy, won four Olympic gold medals in swimming at the 2012 Summer Games in London, is one of four dads to be honored at the American Diabetes Association’s Father of the Year banquet.

Former Denver Nugget Bill Hanzlik; Ed Haselden, chairman and chief executive officer of Haselden Construction; and Adam Sayers, co-founder and executive vice president of Axia Energy, also will be honored at the June 13 event. Festivities begin at 5:30 p.m.at the Hyatt Regency Tech Center. Read more…

Former Denver resident Anne Donley and her husband, Tom Smith, at their New Year’s Eve wedding in Kansas. Photo by Darrin Hackney, Special to The Denver Post

Congratulations are in order:

* Stephanie Dunn, who specialized in complex commercial litigation when she was a partner at Perkins Coie, is now a judge on the Colorado State Court of Appeals. She was appointed by Gov. John Hickenlooper and succeeds Arthur Roy, who is retiring. Stephanie received her undergraduate degree from the University of Colorado Boulder and her juris doctorate from the University of Denver Sturm College of Law. She also clerked for the late Luis Rovira when he was chief justice of the Colorado Supreme Court. Stephanie’s parents, Jerry and Charleen Dunn, celebrated Stephanie’s move to the bench by hosting a cocktail buffet at Cherry Hills Country Club on Jan. 12.

* The chief executive officer/executive director of Mi Casa Resource Center, Christine Marquez-Hudson, has been named 9News Leader of the Year by the Metro Chamber Leadership Foundation and 9News. She’ll be honored at a luncheon taking place April 11 at the Marriott City Center.

* The Art Students League of Denver celebrates its 25th anniversary by hosting Art & Soul, a celebration set for April 6 at the McNichols Building in Civic Center Park. Chairmen are Betsy Palin and Henry Meininger, Catherine and Mikkel Saks and Margaret and Mark Berzins; Carmel Koeltzow is the event coordinator and food will be by Three Tomatoes.

* On New Year’s Eve, former Denverite Anne Donley married Tom Smith at a 10 a.m. ceremony in Wichita, where he is co-founder and CEO of Alltite MobileCal and she is the company’s marketing director. Longtime friend Jim Guttau, public relations director for the Four Seasons Vail, officiated. The ceremony preceded a dinner-dance held at Wichita Country Club, to which the newlyweds belong.

Anne, who grew up in Steamboat Springs and did marketing for Nordstrom before moving to Wichita, was married in a gold Badgley Mischka gown. For the reception, she changed into a Vera Wang gown that she had originally tried on in traditional white at the Anna Be salon in Denver, but after flying to New York during Fashion Week and trying on the dress in black, she chose it, instead.

The Gatsby-inspired theme was executed with a little help from her Colorado friends. She had Paul DeLongchamps and a staff of nine from Bistro Boys Catering come in to do the food. Jay’s Valet dispatched a crew from its Oklahoma City office to handle parking; and Guttau officiated at the vow exchange. Denver-based Event Rents also was utilized.

Here comes the judge(s): Congratulations to Nicole Rodarte, a partner in Casper & Rodarte, and Gary Jackson, a partner in DiManna & Jackson, on their appointment as Denver County Court judges. They’ll fill vacancies created by the January, 2013, retirement of judges Aileen Ortiz-White and Andrew Armatas.

Before entering private practice, where she focuses on criminal defense, Rodarte served for several years in the state Public Defender’s Office. A Denver native and graduate of John F. Kennedy High School, Rodarte serves on the PTA of Swigert International School in Stapleton.

Like Jackson, she earned her juris doctorate degree from the University of Colorado.

Attorney Stanton Rosenbaum has been a Denver community leader for 50-plus years and tonight he will be honored at a dinner that the Anti-Defamation League is having at the Westin Denver Downtown. Rosenbaum will receive the coveted Torch of Liberty Award.

Rosenbaum was a partner in Isaacson Rosenbaum until 2011, when he joined Ryley Carlock & Applewhite.

His community service includes terms on the Colorado Developmental Disabilities Council, the Denver County Judicial Nominating Commission, the Denver and Colorado Bar Association governing boards and the Rose Medical Center board of directors. In addition, he was president and campaign chair for the Allied Jewish Federation of Colorado and has actively supported the Anti-Defamation League’s Mountain States regional office and the Denver chapter of the American Jewish Committee.

Hazel Miller reads to children at Blair-Caldwell African American Research Library during Black History Month.

One of Denver’s most popular — and versatile — vocalists, Hazel Miller, will entertain Friday night when Rocky Mountain Children’s Law Center hosts a fundraising gala at the Hyatt Regency Convention Center.

Her show will cap off an event that also includes the opportunity to bid on auction items ranging from an eco-safari to Kenya to the opportunity for one’s child to lead the Pledge of Allegiance before a legislative session in the state Capitol. CBS4 weather anchor Ed Greene is the master of ceremonies and Noble Energy is the presenting sponsor.

Executive director Stephanie Villafuerte says that tables of 10 begin at $2,500 and can be purchased online.